C16 He Followed Her Weibo

Hsu Xiangqian was familiar with Ruan Shiyu's situation. Normally, there wasn't much going on, so when she spoke up, he couldn't help but frown, "Is something up? Do you need my help?"

"No, no, it's not like that." Seeing Hsu Xiangqian's misunderstanding, Ruan Shiyu quickly clarified, "It's not that I have something urgent; I just want to go back and draw."

She scratched her head a bit sheepishly and chuckled, "You know how it is with cartoonists... we live off inspiration. I want to go back and draw something, so I'm skipping the outing."

In simple terms, inspiration struck, and she was eager to get home.

Hearing this, Hsu Xiangqian was relieved and smiled, "Alright, but you should still have breakfast. Why not grab something to take with you?"

Ruan Shiyu couldn't refuse Hsu Xiangqian's kind offer, so she went to a breakfast spot and picked up some food.

Once home, she quickly ate and headed to her study. Instead of turning on her computer, she felt unusually inspired and took out some blank paper. She moved a table to the balcony and started drawing in the bright morning sunlight.

While Ruan Shiyu was caught up in her rare burst of creativity, Hsu Xiangqian found his own interest piqued. With no one to join him, he lost interest in having breakfast out and, like Ruan Shiyu, picked up something to eat at home. As he ate, he couldn't resist checking his phone.

His eyes drifted to the corner where the Twitter app icon was. He rarely used social media, and when he did use messaging apps, it was mostly for work. The Twitter app came pre-installed on his phone, and he hadn't really touched it since he got the phone.

He remembered his little cousin mentioning that many great artists have their own Twitter accounts and sometimes share their work there. On a whim, Hsu Xiangqian opened the app.

He didn't have an account, so Twitter prompted him to sign up. He registered using his phone number, and after signing up, he was surprised to see friend recommendations showing people within a mile of his location.

Hsu Xiangqian had no intention of revealing his personal information and frowned at the thought. Just as he was about to decline, a familiar name caught his eye among the friend recommendations.

Misty Stone Rain.

Ruan Shiyu.

He hesitated for a moment but eventually clicked on the user.

Sure enough, it was a cartoonist. Her social media page was filled with various artworks and snippets of her life. Hsu casually browsed through the posts.

February 14: Please don't tell me what day it is today; I really don't want to know. (Accompanied by a hand-drawn picture of a pitiful-looking dog)

June 1: Is anyone giving me a Children's Day gift?

This user didn't seem to share much about her personal life. Her updates were sparse, mostly tied to holidays, with the rest showcasing her extensive drawings and a few comics.

Hsu clicked on a couple of them and found them surprisingly interesting.

So, could this really be Ruan Shiyu's account?

What are the odds? Hsu thought, ready to close the page.

Just then, he heard a "ding" — Misty Stone Rain had posted a new update.

Curious, Hsu clicked on the new post.

The update featured several photos of hand-drawn comics on paper. The user playfully included her hand in the shots, making a peace sign.

Seeing these photos, Hsu couldn't help but think of Ruan Shiyu's smiling face, and without realizing it, a slight smile appeared on his own lips.

The short comic was intriguing, telling the story of a nine-to-five worker who quit her job in pursuit of freedom, only to find that freelancing brought its own challenges: irregular routines, lack of exercise, and more. One day, a strange app appeared on her phone called the Routine Adjustment System.

Hsu rarely paid attention to such works, but this creative concept caught his interest, and before he knew it, he had read through the entire comic.

Reaching the last page, Hsu Xiangqian still felt a bit unsatisfied. After a moment's hesitation, he decided to give the post a like.

Meanwhile, Ruan Shiyu, who had just finished and posted her comic online, let out a long sigh of relief. Lately, her thoughts had been getting stuck, and it often took ages to complete a scene. It had been a while since she experienced such a smooth creative flow. Plus, it seemed like her work was doing well.

Ruan refreshed her social media page and saw the number of views and likes climbing rapidly. Just as she was feeling pleased with herself, a notification popped up with a "ding." It was a new like.

This was pretty normal for Ruan, who was quite a big deal in her circle. She casually clicked on the notification, but the username of the person who liked her post caught her eye: "Gentleman Qian." It always made her think of something.

But soon, Ruan's attention shifted because her editor pinged her. Seeing the familiar icon, Ruan felt a bit nervous out of habit, but then she remembered she had already submitted this month's work. There was nothing to worry about!

So she opened the chat with her editor and typed a greeting: "Hey, Little Mango, good morning!"

Little Mango replied, "(scoffing) It's already past ten, and you're saying good morning? Don't tell me you just woke up?"

Of course, her longtime editor saw right through her. In the past, Ruan would have felt like she was caught red-handed. But now, she was different. Feeling triumphant, she replied, "Are you kidding, editor? I've already finished a comic today. How could I have just woken up?"

Little Mango was momentarily at a loss for words, finally responding after a while, "Are you on your phone or computer? If you're on your phone, switch to your computer. I need to discuss something with you."

Little Mango is a magazine editor who used to be a renowned writer. Tired of the daily grind of updates, they switched to editing, and their typing speed is incredible—like some kind of octopus monster that can churn out thousands of words an hour.

On the other hand, Ruan Shiyu is great at drawing but a slow typist. Every time she types, Little Mango can't help but look down on her speed. When they're on the computer, they can manage to communicate normally, but when Ruan Shiyu texts on her phone, the impatient Little Mango feels like jumping through the screen to teach her how to type faster.

After Little Mango's comment, Ruan Shiyu quickly switched to her computer. In the world of editors, the editor is king.

Misty Stone Rain: "I've switched. So, what's up?"

Shrunken Little Mango: "I checked out your new comic and thought the concept was great. You've been working on this series for a while now. Have you thought about starting a new one?"

Misty Stone Rain: "(Shocked) A new series? But I haven't even finished the last one!"

Shrunken Little Mango: "You can work on both. You're full-time, so it's not like you don't have the time. You've already submitted this month's work, so what are you going to do with the next ten days? If you've got the time, why not draw?"

Misty Stone Rain: "..."

Ruan Shiyu's hands hovered over the keyboard, unsure how to respond. Starting a new series isn't something you can just decide on a whim. The last series had her questioning her life choices, and she wondered if she could survive finishing two at once. Would she burn out before she even finished them?

Seeing Ruan Shiyu's silence, Little Mango seemed to understand her hesitation and typed, "Alright, alright, if you're not up for it, I won't push you. The magazine still needs an illustration. Want to give it a shot? You're not doing anything else anyway."

Ruan Shiyu wasn't ready to start another series, but she could handle an illustration, so she quickly agreed.

The two of them discussed the illustration details carefully. After they finished, Little Mango said, "Alright, go ahead and draw it. Just get it to me by the first of next month."

Despite Ruan Shiyu's tendency to procrastinate, the quality of her work was always top-notch. Every time Little Mango needed an illustrator, she would come to Ruan Shiyu first. However, Ruan was often too lazy to even finish her own series, let alone additional illustrations.

Thinking about this, Little Mango couldn't help but send a long string of exclamation marks.

Shrunken Little Mango: "You have to finish by the end of the month! Got it? If you don't, I'll buy a plane ticket and come challenge you in person!"

Misty Stone Rain: "(Sweating) I know, I know. I'll definitely finish it."

Shrunken Little Mango: "Good, I'm leaving now. Bye."

Misty Stone Rain: "Wait, I have a question."

Shrunken Little Mango: "What is it?"

Misty Stone Rain: "Why are you 'shrunken'?"

Shrunken Little Mango: "Because during the company health check a couple of days ago, they measured my height without shoes..."

Misty Stone Rain: "So without your height insoles, you're 'shrunken'?"

Shrunken Little Mango: "(Grinning) My dear, if you have any last wishes, say them now. You might not live to see tomorrow's sunrise."

Seeing the chat window start to close, Ruan Shiyu quickly said she needed to get back to drawing and closed the chat.

She leaned back in her chair, staring at the ceiling with a silly grin. She couldn't shake the feeling that everything was getting better lately—exercise, her comics...

Could it really be that some kind of system was bringing her good luck? Ruan Shiyu thought about it but was reluctant to admit that the system, which constantly threatened her with punishment, could bring her any luck. She pouted, took out her beloved drawing tablet from the cabinet, and began working on the task Little Mango had just given her.

The illustration was simple, just a flat image without needing to develop a storyline. Ruan Shiyu worked quickly, finishing the illustration in less than two days and sending it off to Little Mango.

When Little Mango saw the picture, their jaw practically hit the floor. They chased after Ruan Shiyu, exclaiming, "Are you still the same procrastination master I know?"